Lucas Torreira has broken his silence amid talk of a summer move to Arsenal.

The midfielder has been heavily linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium since before the World Cup got underway, with his current club Sampdoria revealing last month that he'd already been sold.

However, as of yet, there hasn't been any official confirmation from the north London outfit with reports claiming they were waiting for Uruguay to be eliminated from the tournament in Russia in order for the 22-year-old to undergo a medical and finalise a £26m transfer.

Well, that day finally arrived yesterday afternoon as the South Americans were beaten 2-0 by France at the quarter-final stage, meaning Torreira's move to the Gunners had moved a step closer to completion.

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Speaking after the defeat, the midfielder confirmed that he decided to postpone a medical in Russia in order to focus on trying to help Uruguay go as far as they could in the World Cup.

Lucas Torreira (Image: Clive Mason/FIFA via Getty Images)

"Yes, we could have done things differently, but I did not want to think about other things," he said, as reported by the Metro. "The World Cup is important and being part of this squad meant a lot to me.

"But now I have more time my future will be very clear.

"The important thing is that I’m happy to have been part of this squad and this World Cup, so I thank all the people who accompanied us."

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Once Torreira's move to Arsenal is complete he will become the fourth signing under the new Unai Emery era.

Stephan Lichtsteiner has joined on a free transfer from Serie A giants Juventus, Bernd Leno's move was confirmed last month, while a deal for Borussia Dortmund centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos was finally completed at the beginning of the week.

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